Arsenal target Jackson Martinez set to sign new Porto deal

Arsenal target Jackson Martinez is set to sign a new long term contract with his current club Porto, according to reports in Portugal.

The 27 year old has attracted the interest of a number of clubs following his fine form in the Portuguese league, scoring 38 goals in 45 starts since joining from Chiapas.

His agent Luis Manuel Manso stated that Martinez will announce a new long term deal with the Portuguese giants in the coming days.

“It’s okay, I will travel in a week to Porto to discuss the renewal”, Luis said.

When questioned as to whether the framework to the new deal had already been agreed, he continued: “Yes, there is already an agreement to renew.”

He signed for Porto in 2012 for €9 million, chiefly to replace Radamel Falcao and his contract is believed to include a €40 million release clause. He alerted both Chelsea and Arsenal to his potential availability late last year when he said he followed both Premier League clubs as a boy growing up in Colombia.

Arsene Wenger is keen to bring in a striker this month having been overly reliant of Olivier Giroud so far this season. Nicklas Bendtner is also few weeks away from a return to action while Lukas Podolski is still working his way back to match fitness. With Walcott now being ruled out for the entire season, the Gunners have been left short of options up front.

The news will come as a blow to Arsenal, who have been linked heavily with the Colombian international this month. He would have been great for Arsenal to sign a striker like him but his release clause was so high that we didn’t have a chance unless something drastic happened. There are better value for money strikers available in the market and hopefully Wenger will sign someone who could help us in ending the trophy drought.